EDDIE Howe said he was “hurting for Bournemouth” as he dismissed the notion Cherries’ 3-2 defeat at Burnley would be a hurtful personal blow to absorb.

Howe took his team to Turf Moor for only the second time since he left the Clarets in 2012 for a second stint in charge at Dean Court.

But rather than focus on that aspect of the afternoon, the manager’s frustrations had their roots in the manner his side shipped two early goals – a start which ultimately foiled Cherries' bid to seal back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since March.

Reflecting on the defeat in Lancashire, Howe told the Daily Echo: “It’s the same feeling. It doesn’t matter where you play, what game you’re involved in, you want to win.

“And your job is to win. So the fact it’s Burnley has no relevance. I’m hurting today for Bournemouth.

“It’s easy to build plans but executing those plans is the most difficult part. There were a couple of loose moments from us and we were punished for that.

“We possibly need a little bit more mental toughness at times. The way we play, we’re always looking to create and we need to remember to defend better at certain moments."

Howe declined to discuss the reasons behind the tactical switch which saw Callum Wilson and Benik Afobe line up as an authentic front two.

He did, however, explain why Jack Wilshere had started on the bench.

“The need to protect Jack from the workload meant, in our opinion, he had to miss one of our three games in eight days,” said Howe.

“We felt, with the physicality of Burnley, the way they play and a couple of tactical tweaks from us, this would be the one the team would benefit from (Wilshere missing) most.”

Howe, who praised the contribution of “excellent” winger Ryan Fraser, admitted his side would need some finessing if they were to find the consistency he craved.

He said: “We haven’t been able to recapture that (winning) formula from game to game so that’s something we need to look at.

“We know we’re not the finished article. We’re a younger team than we were last year, a little bit more inexperienced in certain ways, but the potential in the team is bigger than it was.

“There are a lot of areas in the team that need, not massive overhauls, just tweaks. I don’t think there’s anything drastically wrong."

In response to current Burnley boss Sean Dyche’s claims prior to the match that Howe had changed his tactical approach since returning south, Cherries' manager said: “I don’t take note of anything other people say about me. I’ll take note of what I believe.

“Of course I’ve changed. It’s four years since I left. If I’m still managing the same way in four years’ time from this point then I won’t have grown as a coach or a manager, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”